Two upcoming video scripts available! (Patreon)

The following are a couple of video scripts available for videos that will release in the next month or so. Please note that these are somewhat rough scripts, so any errors you may find (if you do find them!) have likely been corrected in the final version.

1)  

Van Hohenheim - Humanity and Redemption (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

—

In the ancient land of Xerxes lived a man simply known as 23 - the twenty third slave of a the most prestigious royal house in the land. 23 did not want for much - despite being confined, he was satisfied with his position and lived out his days performing menial tasks. He held some vague dreams about starting a family, but never really thought it possible. However, one day, he came into contact with a strange creature named Homunculus, or the dwarf in the Flask. It was a result of an experiment that required some of 23’s blood in order to provide it with sustainable life, which it appreciated. In return, this being provided 23 with a name: Van Hohenheim. The homunculus taught Hohenheim a wealth of things and provided him with an education, which allowed him to slowly gain status and influence and climb the ranks in Xerxes. And this all allowed Hohenheim to desire things for himself - he had true ambition, and most importantly, he now felt as if his endeavour to have a family was within his reach. 

However, the dwarf in the flask also had grand ambitions that coincided with the death of the people of Xerxes - all except for Hohenheim, whom he granted immortality and an endless life out of gratitude for providing it with life. This immortality was granted thanks in part to the endless souls that Hohenheim forcibly consumed in this ritual, and through Hohenheim’s subsequent opposition and compensation, this event formed the crux of the enigmatic character that is so fundamentally tied to the main messages of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. This dwarf did a many terrible things, but at a base level, it is ironically the reason that the traits that characterized Hohenheim in the years to come - a desire for connection and family, a resolve to protect what he cherishes and redeem his sins - are so ingrained in his psyche. Such a traumatic event would naturally give someone a sense of focus and perspective in life, and through making Hohenheim something akin to a grounded god, the dwarf imbued him with a true sense of purpose that would slowly materialize over the coming years into a genuine conviction.

The most minute specifics of Hohenheim’s life are not shared, at least to my knowledge, but the important thing that is made clear is that as a young man, he was a slave with little to no meaningful connections and no real desires.. apart from that abstract dream. 

But after a glimpse, after a little taste of what you’ve been missing, the human heart desires more. Hohenheim grew to appreciate life much more after moving up in the world, appreciating connection and joy and fulfillment - and that is why he is so torn up after this event. Without that taste, I seriously doubt that he would have been this affected - or at the very least, not traumatized to the same extent.

Regardless, after this catastrophe, the homunculus left Hohenheim to his grief as the latter was forced to constantly hear the cries and screams of the people he consumed. But empathetic and compassionate as he was, he learned to listen and communicate and understand those souls - all 536,329 of them. Their motivations, their names and pleas.. partly due to them, Hohenheim was able to learn XIngese medicine and use it to help people in the west, and after years and years of learning of the world, applying his trade and connecting with these souls, he came into contact with a young woman in Risembool and fell in love.

Trisha Elric accepted him wholeheartedly and never once thought of him as a terrible person after learning of his life, and eventually, they started a life and family together after her insistence that Hohenheim deserved a true life of his own, one where he could be genuinely happy and not pining for constant redemption. This concept was welcoming, but also a very difficult thing for Hohenheim to get used to. Having lived as what he viewed as an immortal monster for so long, bearing so many sins, his self-worth was very low and that sort of life was something he desired but never truly felt he would be able to grasp for himself. While he valued it very much, the concept of connection to anyone apart from the souls in his body was quite foreign to Hohenheim, and being a parent did not come easily. He was simply awkward and uncomfortable a lot of the time, but it’s totally understandable given that he had received such little love throughout his life and was thus unfamiliar with expressing it.

But perhaps the foremost reason behind his hesitancy was how fearful he was of making connections as an immortal, due to how scary it could be to form close relationships with people, only to live to see every one of them die. All of these things were very substantial factors in Hohenheim’s demeanor, and as such, he simply didn’t know how to express love and connect properly. But Trisha and his sons slowly showed him how meaningful family was regardless of this. And despite his awkwardness, he was happy. He was loved, and he loved. It was all he ever wanted, and he realized this. Yet his immortality was a constant factor in his mentality, and he saw it as a curse that made him a monster, made him fearful of seeing those he loved perish before him. It’s something that put him at constant odds with his feelings - during all of his happy times with Trisha, Ed and Al, he simultaneously felt an immense grief and sadness because he realized what he would be leaving behind. He has also been shown to be uncomfortable touching his sons, due to believing himself to be an unworthy wretch that may pass on this curse of immortality to them, caring for them in a detached way rather than a nurturing one. 

Eventually, Hohenheim mustered up the resolve to find the answer to getting rid of his immortality, to make things better for himself and his family through allowing him to finally live life with sincerity and abandon. However, his research into this coincided with a discovery that the Homonculus, who had now become Father, was planning to destroy Amestris with a nation wide transmutation circle. And so, this brought up a new feeling of fear. He knew that were Father’s plans to be carried out, this - his family, Amestris, and everything he held dear - would all be for naught and it would all be cut short. He wouldn’t have to worry about seeing his family growing old and dying, because they would be snuffed out before that could ever happen. And all of this put him on a different plane from the rest of the world - with his knowledge and immortality, Hohenheim had a unique responsibility to stop Father and an endeavour to become a mortal again if possible. So to prevent this - he had to leave behind everything that made him happy and fulfilled and take on this burden, promising to Trisha in parting that they would be able to grow old together. In seeing his father’s right before he left for this journey, Ed recalls seeing Hohenheim leave for the final time and witnessing what he viewed as a cold look in his eyes - but in reality, Hohenheim was just trying to not cry.

This started a ten year disappearance, during which Hohenheim’s absence was very much felt. Not only did Trisha deeply miss him, but his leave coincided with both her death, and his sons subsequently performing human transmutation and losing so much. It is likely that him being present may have helped with Trisha’s illness, or prevented Ed and Al from being so rash, or even just provided the two with support even after their failed attempted to bring back Trisha. As a result, this caused a festering hatred in Ed directed towards him for seemingly abandoning them, and it lead to Hohenheim hating himself for feeling as if Ed was somewhat correct, even if any choice he made would have seemed like a bad one in retrospect, with loved ones dying either way. It was quite a difficult situation for him to be put in, but even still, he resolved to make up for all this by figuring out how to stop Father’s plan, viewing himself as the catalyst for all of this misery - and any potential future misery, should he fail. 

Yet, I must stress that Hohenheim is far from a one-dimensional personality, despite the crux of his character being someone full of self-blame, hell-bent on putting things right. He’s often quite silly and humorous, and has learned to live life with a smile, as Trisha would have wanted for him. He’s also very capable of being genuinely as stern and harsh as Ed’s unreliable memories viewed him as being, calling his children out for being childish for burning their old house down. This was very likely something that he said in pain after hearing of Trisha’s fate and everything that transpired, but regardless, it’s important to note that the broad resonance of his character doesn’t accurately capture everything about the man. However, at his core, he is still very much set on salvation and atonement. He takes responsibility for making the better of two bad choices, accepting the brunt of Ed’s frustration and pain, and works with him, Al and their gang from there.

The fate of the world never left his sights thanks to his resolve, but as one would expect, his sons were of even greater import. He spends the majority of his time in the story trying to right his wrongs and redeem himself - for bringing Father into the world, and most importantly of all, for leaving Ed and Al. He is constantly doing his utmost to protect them in times where they’re in danger, trying to make up for lost time in a sense. Because here, and in the past, he just wanted to be a loving person, and through his actions, he can finally communicate that. Hohenheim was never great with words, so through these acts of protection and defiance, he’s finally able to be whole through expressing what he feels to his boys. And being men of actions themselves, Al and especially Ed are able to see this crystal clear.

I think that his efforts and motivations here are an encapsulation of how and why Hohenheim and Father foil one another. While the two share a similarity in the sense that they both desired a life greater than the one that had been given to them upon birth, they diverge in almost every conceivable way.. apart from appearance. Father was full of pride and wanted everything.. but Hohenheim just wanted.. something. Something resembling a life. As time went on, Father desired immortality and perfection and a grand existence to satisfy his ego.. while Hohenheim just wanted a quiet existence to spend with loving family, and his only small acts of desire came when he sought a life for himself beyond that of a slave, when he wanted to destroy Father to save the world, and when he realized that he simply wished to live a little longer to spend some more time with his sons. Father spurned humanity despite being so very human, attempting to get rid of his vulnerability, and that was a big reason for his downfall. But Hohenheim embraced his humanity and learned to love it, and that was part of the reason he was able to salvage so much meaning from a life that could have become void of.. anything.

And it all comes together for him in a moment of true pain, after he offers his life to Ed in order to save Al. Finally being able to find the right words, Hohenheim says that he does this simply because he’s their dad - he wants to finally act like a proper father, and he wants them to be happy. But in response, Ed angrily chews him out for even considering the idea, and calls him a rotten father - and in doing so, in using that word, he accepts Hohenheim’s role in his life for the first time since his departure. While Ed’s words may seem condemning and harsh out of context, they are a representation of Hohenheim achieving what he set out to do - properly expressing his love, becoming completely whole and human, and redeeming himself to those who matter most to him.

From an apathetic slave, to a lost soul, to a tortured wanderer, and finally, to a true father. Hohenheim learned about himself, about the world, and about others every step of the way, and slowly came to appreciate the strength and meaning of love and connection. Alone, any human would seem insignificant and weak. But together, we can find that purpose and we can do the improbable. Thanks to Trisha and his sons, Hohenheim was able to understand the beauty of being human, of finding solace from within the deepest darkness, and of finding significance from the seemingly insignificant. 

—

“We’ll be able to change. I’m sure of it. We really are weak creatures. But that’s why we can strive to become stronger.” end of Episode 27

—

Through embracing the double-edged nature of humanity and accepting everything, Hohenheim reflects on his life and realizes that in spite of all of the pain and suffering, it was one of utmost value and one that he greatly appreciated. An equivalent exchange. And he can finally pass on to join his beloved, ironically happy with the regret of leaving such joy behind.

But his ideals, resolve and life will be carried forward through the ones he sacrificed so much to protect, and we can see this through the contrast between the iconic photo of Hohenheim crying with his family, and the ones of Ed we’re shown in the final minutes of the story - and this is not to downplay his love for Alphonse whatsoever, but the contrast is more apt when comparing him to his older son. With Hohenheim we see a devastated, regretful man, crying because he knows that it’s unlikely that he will be able to live a peaceful, loving life with his family - something he ended up being right about, yet something that didn’t stop him from finding value in life anyway. And then we see a brimming, joyful Edward, a spitting image of Hohenheim, gleefully living in the moment with his family, loving his work and overall just being able to live in the way he desires. It’s everything that a father would ever want for a son, and it’s a true representation of Hohenheim’s legacy - an appreciation and advocation of the joys of love and humanity. 

—

“Last scene - I lived a happy life.” 63?

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SPONSOR: Thanks very much for watching, and I’d just like to give a big thank you to Boomslank for sponsoring this video. Boomslank is an anime lifestyle brand run by three brothers in Raleigh, North Carolina. All Boomslank merchandise is based on original anime artwork, and all of it is pretty damn awesome. A link to their website will be in the description, where you can use the coupon code ALECZANDXR15 - don’t forget the x - to get a 15% discount on any purchases you may make. Be sure to check their stuff out, and as always (and once again), many thanks for watching.

2)  

A Crown For a King - Tobio Kageyama (Haikyuu!!)

— 

One of the things that Haikyuu consistently presents throughout it’s narrative is that getting better is a struggle. Learning new techniques, improving and polishing styles of play, and integrating it all with team-mates during games is far from easy, and you can point to any multitude of events to see this. Karasuno’s loss to Seijoh, which served as the foundation for newfound inspiration for the team. The team then subsequently losing dozens and dozens of practice games and becoming used to punishment as a result of finding a new gear during the camp in Tokyo. Hinata suffering sheer humiliation after desperately accepting the role as ball-bay, only to come out of it with a new sense of perspective and a greater field of vision for the sport. 

Haikyuu understands that evolution and progression and improvement are all extremely messy. It’s imperfect by nature as you stumble around and find how to grasp hold of an identity - as teams and individuals. And this theme is applied to Kageyama’s journey as well - although due to his immense skill, his problem was more of a psychological and personal hurdle than a technical one.

After being invited to the All-Japan Youth Training camp for elite talents, Kageyama had his eyes opened in a sense. As good as his team-mates at Karasuno are, here he was being pushed to his limit by others who were just as good or even better than he was. He found it exhilirating to be able to fit into a practice dynamic full of the best that the country had to offer, and he savoured that feeling, developing a sort of growing hunger to be able to play with and against top talent. And one of those talents was Miya Atsumu, who deeply impressed Kageyama with how beautifully he was able to perform as a setter, so much so that he sort of became an example for Kageyama to learn from in a short amount of time. However, thanks to some key words, Atsumu’s lasting impression on Kageyama ended up being one of confusion. 

— 

“You’re a goodie two shoes.” S4E4?

—

Atsumu is conceited and egoistic - he’s a special player, and he knows it. Yet with these words, he also proves to be deeply intuitive. Because while Kageyama’s talent speaks for itself, his demeanor on the court keys Atsumu into his mentality and strikes him deep because of how much it rings true. Kageyama is filled with regret, shame and fear at his experience in middle school, where he would constantly berate his teammates for not living up to his standards and not keeping up with him. He never had bad intentions, but his will to win and drive to continue to stay on the court were so fierce that he failed to treat those he was setting to with any tact or respect. And this lead to him being given an infamous nickname: the King of the Court. The Tyrannical, egocentric King who would never settle for anything less than perfection from his teammates, and who disregarded anyone who couldn’t keep up as a commoner. Kageyama never intended to be viewed in this way and he never truly felt those things, but the way his passion manifested made that an accurate label. These bad habits of his lead to his team-mates abandoning and losing faith in him, and his coaches lamenting his wasted potential.

Kageyama never wanted to feel this again, and so in joining Karasuno, he did his best to stifle this Kingly nature of his, wanting to ensure that his team-mates would always be there for him. He never wanted to feel lonely, and so although his habits did crop up on rare occasions, he became someone who rarely ever criticized his team-mates.. apart from Hinata. He let go of any and all ego on the court. And to add to that, in trying to discover the key to perfecting a new quick set, Kageyama sought advice from his long-time role-model and rival of sorts in Oikawa.

— 

“Have you even tried giving the shrimp the tosses he wants?” S2

—  

All of this ingrained an idea in Kageyama’s mind, a new philosophy. That he is there in the service of his team. That if his spiker demands something from him, it is up to him to supply exactly what is required, and not the other way around. It is a combination of a sort of opposite reaction and compensation in fear of being left behind by his team-mates, and of his admiration of Oikawa’s attributes. And it manifests in an on-court personality that is.. a bit of a goodie-two-shoes. And because he approaches his game in a completely different way, it’s something Atsumu is able to pick up on and make note of to Kageyama.

—

“What did you mean when you said I was a goodie two shoes?” Exactly what I said.

Anyone who can’t hit my sets sucks.” S4E5.

—

Naturally, this was all a bit of a shock. Atsumu is clearly one of the best players of his age, and playing with him was such a thrill and example for Kageyama. But here he is saying something completely opposite to what he had learned was the right way to go about things, something that reaffirms his middle-school mentality in a sense. But it brings up a huge conflict - of the two setters that are currently the biggest influence on him, who is correct? Could Kageyama be limiting himself and his team by not pushing them to be better? Or was Oikawa right? He’s tried so hard to not be the king, tried so hard to not criticize his team-mates. But the setter’s job is to get the most offensive potential out of the team. Could the team be better in this regard? Can they go up another level if Kageyama challenges them, if he asserts more authority? His greatest fear is to have no one to set to, but he is driven by such a fervent passion that he can’t stand the idea of not trying to improve. Can he push them in a healthy way, without being abandoned? He doesn’t know.

Luckily, the practice match against Dateko comes at the perfect time to put everything out there. A great and difficult opponent, Kageyama playing well but his team-mates struggling.. it all makes for a great time to take Atsumu’s words into consideration. But again, his old habits get the better of him, he explodes, and he immediately regrets the things he said. It’s a scary situation for Kageyama, one where he doesn’t quite have the perspective to understand how to approach things. He isn’t being entirely selfish here - he truly cares for Karasuno and wants to win for both himself and them, but in searching for a way to improve them, he slips into old, selfish and prideful habits. And he gets stuck - does he try and be ambitious and turn into the old, tyrannical king? Or does he give up on that and settle, even if he thinks his personality isn’t suited for that? Oikawa or Atsumu? What type of setter does he want to be? 

However, Kageyama’s mistake here is even considering that settling is an option for Karasuno, a team that continuously strives for higher heights, whose ambition is only matched by the work they put into achieve that ambition. And his other mistake is believing that his only two options were tyrannical king and goodie-two-shoes, neither of which is a role that truly suits who he is as a person. Oikawa didn’t give him bad advice; he gave him some very good advice, tips that worked for him personally and that would help Kageyama to achieve his goals at that moment. 

But Kageyama believed that that mentality was to be maintained in all aspects of his game, when that wasn’t the case if he wanted to become the best he could be and help Karasuno optimize their offensive talents. Every team is different; different things work for different players, different styles are advantageous. What works for Oikawa is this selflessness. While the man himself is incredibly prideful and petty at times, what it translates to is a setting style that gets the best out of his team-mates by learning their likes, dislikes, habits and strengths, and delivering sets that adhere to those aspects perfectly. It is ironically a setting style without ego. And given what Atsumu tells Kageyama at the camp, at this point in the story, he is the other end of the spectrum, something similar to Kageyama’s old mentality, but with a laid back, confident air instead of a scowl - an egoistic fire and sheer confidence that his sets are ideal, and that anyone who can’t keep up with them isn’t worth setting to. And clearly this works for him and his team.

But Kageyama’s style isn’t exactly either of these. He has learnt the benefits of accomodating his team-mates, but his kingly tendencies have been beneficial at points too, and they are a part of him. He doesn’t need to be Oikawa’s artful and selfless elegance, and he doesn’t need to be Atsumu’s prideful fire. He can be neither and both, he can be something in between - and Hinata helps remind him of both this, and of who he really is.

—

“I won’t set to someone unless I consider them worth setting to.” Episode 3? 4?

—

The key here is that Hinata has always been the one at the brunt of Kageyama’s King of the Court nature. While the setter has constantly tried to be proper to his Karasuno team-mates, even to Tsukishima, and while those efforts have been beneficial in helping the team operate better and in building bonds and respect, Hinata is a different case. The two reached many compromises in their short careers so far, but they have always pushed each other to be better, and as such, there have been many occasionals in which Hinata reached new heights and learned new things BECAUSE of Kageyama’s so called tyranny. And because of this, he knows the value of the King of the Court, and he knows better than anyone that repressing this is not only stifling who Kageyama is, but it is depriving Karasuno of a great tool.

And so, Hinata reminds everyone that being a king is not necessarily a bad thing. That with the right sort of approach, having a king of the court on the team can be a tremendous asset. And what’s important is that his team-mates and coach accept this. They know who Kageyama is - they know he means well and has a good heart, but they also know that he’s tunnel-visioned and immature at times, and that he will make mistakes. Karasuno is a team made up of a series of healthy give-and-take relationships, and they’re fully willing to support Kageyama through those times and help him - something that his old team at Kitagawa Daiichi was not able to do, and something that Kindaichi has frequently expressed regret over. Kageyama is a prodigy but his communication has never been great, and that’s hurt him in the past. But luckily, now he’s at a place where those around him understand him and will help him find a style that works for him - and Karasuno as a whole. He’ll stumble, but he’ll never be alone.

— 

“I want to be the best setter.” “You’ve always been that.” S4E7.

—

And most luckily for Kageyama, now he’s got someone that’s extremely perceptive and emotionally intelligent to bridge any communication gaps that he might need assistance with, and to help him find a breakthrough and reach an understanding. Kageyama has given Hinata so much confidence in the past, telling him that there is nothing wrong with his identity as a decoy and assuring him that he is invincible on the court as long as he is there to support him. Well, now it works both ways. Now he is telling Kageyama that there is nothing wrong with being himself, and he is able to use his gifts to return the favor. Hinata wouldn’t be the player he is without Kageyama, but things work the other way around too. He helps Kageyama realize that he can turn a moniker that he lamented and was ashamed of into something to be proud of. It’s not as if his sheer unrelenting spirit and presence have not been a great benefit and saving grace to Kageyama before, but now is the tangible moment in which he is telling his partner, without words, that he can be invincible too.

In this moment, Kageyama understands what he needs to do. There will be mistakes and setbacks, but he understands that his team will support him and he knows the approach he has to take. It’s a mix of it all - authority, respect and communication. It’s not exactly what works with Oikawa, and it’s not exactly what works with Atsumu, but it’s perfect for him. And That’s what a setter is - someone who knows their strengths, and understands how to get the best out of their teammates. He need not serve others without speaking his mind.. but he needs to assert his authority and learn what works with the team the most. Whether he is going to be a tyrant or a good ruler is up to him. And as such, this re-crowning of the king is not only a celebration and acceptance from Hinata and Karasuno of the type of person that Kageyama is, but it’s a symbolic affirmation that Kageyama need only be genuine. 

Be respectful and understand the differences between team-mates, but don’t be afraid to try to push them to be better. Because that’s what this team is all about - constantly taking risks, always pushing onwards - the perfect home for someone like Tobio Kageyama. From a lonely, broken tyrant king, to a setter playing in service of others yet simultaneously holding himself and his team back, to a benevolent yet authoritative king once more, accepting that this is who he is yet incorporating all that he has learned to be able to help his team achieve the improbable. Many thanks for watching.

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Crowning scene.

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